5" snow...35º

Winter Art

Lovely snowstorm yesterday late afternoon/evening...A winter wonderland is at our doorstep...I went out for fresh air about 6pm, used the broom then the shovel...It was still snowing when I finished the walks, steps and most of the deck...It is waiting for me again this morning and that is okay...I would rather do it twice than wait until the last snow flake falls and then do it...Much easier for me.

Our house was filled with the pungent fragrance of onions roasting in the afternoon...Sharon (at pinochle) said she still had onions from her garden stored in their basement and she was sure they were all going bad...Did we want some to take home?..Donna had already dried a bunch that she got earlier but Marsha and I said sure we could use some....I came home with about 20# of big, really big onions...I threw only one of them away and small parts of of some others but for the most part they are big and solid...I quickly peeled (very few tears) and chunked, dumping them on cookie sheets with olive oil, sprinkled with butter, course salt and fresh ground pepper...Put them in a 400º oven, stirred every half hour, turned the heat down to 300º after an hour...They turned sweet as honey, we enjoyed some with our dinner and the rest I put in baggies to freeze and use for the rest of the winter.

Speaking of tears, I shed a few as I write this morning...My brother-in-law Jim Stephens (Bobbies husband) died yesterday morning at home with Bobbie, son Alan and his wife Gail at his side...I talked to Bobbie minutes after his death and she said, "It's hard but he looks so peaceful, not in pain anymore, I will miss him so much." As we all will, Jim was a giant of a man, kind and gentle...His dry sense of humor and the twinkle in his eye always comes to my mind when I think of him...He called me "Little Sister" and enveloped me in hugs whenever we visited...In his lifetime he worked construction and for many years he drove bus for Greyhound in California driving over the Golden Gate Bridge every day into downtown San Francisco, for many years...Next he drove a run into Lake Tahoe taking gamblers to the casinos and then a move to Fresno and on to Albuquerque, NewMexico for a different run...The company retired him early with a heart problem, so he and Bobbie retired to his home state of Oklahoma where they bought acreage on a lake to live the rest of their lives...Jim started his own business of mowing lawns...Jim was very mechanical always working and restoring cars...They bought an Airstream trailer and spent many happy years traveling in the US, visiting parks or just camping in the great outdoors...He had a wood shop where he made bird houses, benches, frames just to mention a few...Many of us treasure these gifts made by his hands...As the years added up, their trailer was sold and they spent time at there lovely home on the lake turning it into its own little paradise...In springtime is was a riot of blooms that continued through summer and fall...He loved to read, mostly non fiction and did his daily crossword puzzle...He was a slow talker, but commanded your attention and had great stories to tell...He loved life, his family and in return was loved by those who knew him...Hugs To All...OWAV

Bummer...30º

A hectic day yesterday as Herb dropped me off at the dentist on his way to have the tires changed...The dentist was running behind so after the hygienist was done with me they ask if I had errands to do and could I come back in a half hour or I could reschedule...A quick trip to the grocery store, back to the dentist and home in time to put groceries away, a quick lunch and I picked Marsha up to go play cards...An enjoyable afternoon, although a little too long for my liking, we finally finished two games in 5 hours...We are usually home before dark...Now driving in the dark we were less than a mile from home when a deer made a mad dash across the road colliding with my cars left front corner...No way to avoid that collision...I braked to a stop, put the flashers on, air bags did not deploy and neither Marsha nor I were hurt...The deer lay dead along side the road.

Now I did this same thing four years ago, different car, different deer...But the same song and dance will have to be repeated...Talk to the insurance people, wait for the adjuster, make an appointment with the body shop because I must have new lights installed on the left side, before we leave for Arizona later this month...Body work might have to wait until we get back home...Certainly takes my mind off of the other more mundane things like will any of my summer clothes fit or do I need to go shopping?... Shopping used to be fun but now I would rather go to the dentist, which reminds me the dentist said I better be thinking about replacing a crown that is cracked...$$$$ signs, new crown, insurance deductible, new clothes, might have to float a loan. :).....Hugs to All...OWAV:)

Mixed up day...30º

 Yesterday was a mixed up day for me...My calendar said I had a dental appointment...But I had a niggling thought in my head...I hadn't received a call on Monday reminding me of this appointment so when their office opened at 8am yesterday I called to make sure...Good thing I did because I didn't have an appointment...It is on their schedule for today.

So I was able to attend write group and have lunch as well...We strolled from the Art Center to Red Horse Cafe, wearing light jackets on this warm February day, where we had the potato soup and sandwich special...It is a small but popular place and will remain popular if they keep their "homemade" menu.

Pinochle is definitely on my schedule today, should be a fun afternoon...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Unsettled weather...30º

More clouds than sun this week but temperatures are up a bit and wind is light...Maybe snow on Thursday...At least we get occasional blocks of sunshine.

I have a dental appointment this morning that is overlapping write group, so will just have to be late...Herb is going to Enterprise with me and has plans to have the snow tires changed to the all-seasons that we use in the summer...Don't want to leave snow tires on to go to Phoenix although sometimes they would come in handy...We can only hope for good weather and roads on the trip down and back.

Not much happening right now just many things running through my head as to packing, what staples to take for the condo kitchen...Hate buying little jars and packages of those things...How many days to spend in Utah on our way to Phoenix?..I get in such a quandary before a trip and that is when I want to crawl under the bed and stay home...BUT them once we are on the road I'm sort of okay and will enjoy the warm days of the south and then back home for a week (almost) with our kids and on to our Wallowa County non existent spring but at least I'm HOME!..Enough of the blathering....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Dark...26º

Up early, early...Scrabble, Birds and finally remembered that I could watch last nights episode of Downton Abbey...Much better than the previous one.

Since we don't have TV anymore Super Bowl wasn't an option but I did check on the progress on my laptop and we had a simple dinner of nacho's for dinner...We read, "computered" and enjoyed the sunshine through the south window.

Start of a busy week, dental appt. and write group tomorrow and pinochle on Wednesday...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Foggy...24º

After two absolutely gorgeous days here in the Wallowa Mountains, the fog has rolled in...The sun is hiding but starting to shine in the south window as I write.

Yesterday morning I did some house work, made a batch of hamburger buns as I was planning an afternoon with the Write Group and Herb needed a bun for his hamburger dinner.

I left the house about 1:30 armed with bread stix, crackers and cheese, wearing a long sleeved cotton shirt and no coat...It was warm and the snow glistened like stars basking in the sun...A rare winter day.

L and T had arrived with a tray of fruit, breads, chocolate and wine...T was a bartender in a former life and treated us to a wine tasting experience...We sniffed, tasted, rolled the wine on our pallet and agreed it was very good...We paired it with apples, pears, apricots, mangos, cheeses, crackers and chocolate...Then we got down to the serious part discussing our writing and "life" in general...I made my way home, glowing like the setting sun, after an enjoyable day with friends...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Another Essay...21º

After writing and rewriting for three months now, mostly about "Siblings" I clicked on send, breathed a deep sigh of relief and as I came up for air thought...What will I write about next?

Yesterday was mostly a recuperate day for me, I finished the essay, cleaned the kitchen floor (from all that canning) fixed leftover ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner...Let myself play some new Star Wars Angry Birds and finally last night I settled down to watch episode 4 of Downton Abbey...Most of the other episodes have had more humor, last night was filled with drama, unnecessary death and turmoil...It didn't seem to bother my nights sleep, maybe I'm finally not taking movies or stories so seriously and can say "Its' not real"...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

The following is a paragraph from my essay "Siblings". Real life many years ago:

My parents were blessed with a second boy Joel, born just two years after George. Joel was stricken with double pneumonia at 2 &1/2 years of age and died December 23, 1936. A new baby girl, Mona, was born on December 14^th just a week and a half prior to Joel’s death. My imagination can’t begin to comprehend the pain my parents felt. It was Christmas time, a new baby should bring joy but another baby had just died, 3 older children, all under 10 years of age. It was the middle of winter in Wyoming where they lived hand to mouth in a shack. No time to grieve. They struggled to live.